New Delhi: At this pace of the grim globally, scientists are looking for unconventional ways to address climate change. A new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters proposes an ambitious plan: shooting millions of tonnes of diamond powder into the upper part of the earth’s atmosphere every year. The multi-institutional research team that consisted of climatologists, meteorologists, and Earth scientists used the 3D extant climate models to study several aerosols and the possibility of global cooling associated with aerosols.
The latest research has quantified that Earth is near thresholds for dramatic changes in climate. The projections for global temperatures reveal that experts say that it may not be enough just to decrease carbon emissions. Some scientists even call for deliberate efforts to stop global warming and even cool the planet down. One such method described entails the use of aerosol particles that disperse sunlight and heat to outer space.
Diamond Dust: The Optimal Choice
For this purpose of identifying the best cooling agent, the researchers used calcite, silicon carbide, aluminium, and sulphur dioxide. From their study, they concluded that diamond dust offered better value. The particles of diamond dust can effectively reflect as much maximum light and heat as possible while floating in the atmosphere for hour-long periods. Furthermore, the particles cannot cause chemical reactions and therefore cannot participate in the formation of acid rain, which is a major problem with other aerosols.
Results of the 3D climate models
The simulations used in the study proposed that spraying synthetic diamond dust in the atmosphere in an amount of 5 million tonnes could decrease global temperatures by at least 1.6 degrees Celsius for 45 years. However, this solution looks reasonable; the problem is its cost—the approximate cost of this plan is $200 trillion.
Thus, the idea of which we were supposed to inject diamond dust into the atmosphere also offers an interesting idea but does not answer the questions of real action feasibility in the sphere of combating climate change as well as ad hoc economic efficiency of such actions. While scientists are searching for different techniques to manage heat on the globe, this research raises awareness about how necessary it is to develop multivariate solutions for dealing with the increasing cases of climate change. The task is not only to cease the further growth of global temperatures but to find feasible and realistic strategies to achieve this task of paramount importance on the international level.
